What Happens in Vegas
by houseenthusiast
Summary: Post-breakup fic. House Cuddy and Wilson take a trip to Sin City.  T for now, rating subject to change. Angsty with humorous undertones.
1. Chapter 1

"Shit..." Cuddy said under her breath. "Shit. Shit. Shit." She continued to stare at the confirmation e-mail on her computer screen.

The confirmation was for a conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. She ordinarily would have immediately turned it down, but House had convinced her to register him and herself along with Wilson. She was very excited at the time. It was supposed to be a vacation of sorts.

But that was a month and a half ago. Before her and House….broke up. This used to be vacation in Sin City was now just another pain in the ass she had to deal with.

Of course House would remember, and undoubtedly run to remind her just to make Cuddy feel uncomfortable. He had really made a habit of doing that the last few weeks. Originally, when they split, she expected him to avoid her completely, however, since the breakup he always came into her office for a "procedure approval" but would turn the conversation into something subtley personal. What made her mad was House didn't like personal. He certainly didn't like confrontation with things that mattered to him. Which meant one of two things: 1) The breakup didn't matter to him, which upset Cuddy or 2) He was trying to make her uncomfortable on purpose just to upset her which just pissed Cuddy off.

But after House would make his appearance to remind her of the conference, give an hour for Wilson to talk to House and then he would be running down as well, barging in to make her feel guilty. Wilson had been a little girl about his two friends' break up. He complained and whined about it, but Cuddy was raising a 2 (soon to be 3) year old and quickly grew impatient with his behavior. Cuddy also felt sympathy. He had been rooting for this relationship from the start, even putting some effort to keep it alive so his feelings were justified.

Cuddy took a deep breath and clicked confirm to for the traveling and hosiptalilty details for the three of them.

A little while later, when Cuddy had managed to submerge herself deep enough in work to forget about the upcoming events, the first part of her prediction came true.

"So," House said loudly as he opened her office door. Cuddy closed her lap top and leaned back in her chair staring at her. "You confirmed the trip."

"Yes." She replied. She could tell House wanted a little more with that statement but she had been successful in the past few weeks of resisting his conversation starters.

"Interesting…" He said trying to get a rise out of her. He was not going to give up so easily.

"Interesting that I confirmed our attendance at a prestigious medical conference that the board already comp'd us for? I don't find that interesting."

"Prestigious, Cuddy? Really? 6 weeks ago you were deadest against it. It was only because I convinced you to go for some hot—"

"God House, shut up!" Cuddy stood up and walked closer to him. "Let me put an end to whatever rise you're trying to get out me. This is business, not pleasure. I'm going because I made a commitment, maybe with different intentions , but a commitment none the less, so I am going to be an adult and stand by it."

House read her face and eyes. He knew she was angry, but he was given a glimmer of hope to see her eyes still with love in them. He knew she still loved him and that was all he needed to know. Everyday, he made up the same story just to come read her face for any signs of a change in feeling. House knew that obviously Cuddy still remained adamant about not being in a relationship, but knowing deep down that she wanted to was good enough for him. After clearly perceiving her frustrations, and getting his daily confirmation of her feelings, he turned around and left to go talk to Wilson.

House went open Wilson's office door to find that it was locked. He knocked loudly and still nothing. House then decided to go through his balcony.

"Wilson, when are you going to learn that a locked door will not keep me out of this office?" House said as he barged in through the balcony door and sat down on the couch.

Wilson was at his desk writing some prescriptions for patients but paused when House entered the room.

"You know I read the email that Cuddy confirmed the conference almost 2 hours ago, House. I thought you would have been here, easily, an hour and a half ago," Wilson said.

"I had to wait for something interesting and life threatening to happen to my patient so I could talk to her so MY bad. I'll be sure to try to speed the dying process along for you," House replied.

Wilson ignored the sarcasm. "So what'd she say?"

"Something about sticking to commitments she makes even if they suck. I'm not really sure, she had a deep v-cut on today..well..deeper. I was slightly distracted."

"Ah…the boob deflection. You should really get knew excuses. Since you're deflecting I'm going to take a guess here and say you are slightly unhappy about the conversation but that it was meaningful."

House just looked out the window.

"But she's still going. If things were really done, she would have canceled no matter what her commitment principles might be," Wilson said positively.

House nodded in hopeful agreement then hurried out of the room when his pager went off.

"Dammit!" Wilson said aloud after House left. He replayed the conversation in his head and realized that he had enabled House again…without even noticing. As much as he wanted those two to patch things up, Wilson knew giving House false hope was only going to make his problems worse.

"So, about the Vegas conference…," Wilson started as he walked into Cuddy's office.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. Wilson's arrival into her office again confirmed her early prediction of how this would unfold. Could he not have come in 15 minutes ago when she was still dwelling about her conversation with House? She had just gotten back into Dean-of-Medicine mode.

"Listen, Wilson, I am in no mood to hear you complain to me about how this trip will affect House and I's relationship. So if you are here to bring up anything about him please just leave. The last thing I need is another reason to feel guilty." Her anger had gotten the better of her and she let that last part slip out of her mouth. Now the conversation would be about her and House's relationship. Wilson was not going to drop this.

"Guilty? You're feeling guilty?" Wilson asked gently. He didn't want to be too pushy.

"No. I have lots to do before we leave Thursday, please leave."

"No you don't. You've buried yourself in this work for the past 3 weeks because of House, you're probably preparing next year's budget by now."

"Well I was just trying to throw you out politely."

Wilson decided not to push things further and left. He did not need a repeat confession to know what he had heard. Cuddy felt _guilty._ He saw it in her eyes and knew he needed to tell House. Again, the enabling of House not even bothering to cross his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well thanks for continuing on to the next chapter. This is a learning process for me. Reviews are very helpful! I hope you enjoy. **

It was Wednesday morning and Cuddy was waiting in her office for House and Wilson so they could ride to the airport together. Her initial dreading of this trip had only worsened over the past few days and the only good thing to come of it was she was way ahead in paperwork so wouldn't have to deal with a mess when she returned.

The two men entered in together talking.

"Wilson, I'm just saying people tend to get married in Vegas on a whim, so don't feel the need to marry some stripper you meet at the bar on her break and get sucked in to her neediness," House said.

Wilson rolled his eyes and then turned his attention to Cuddy. "You ready?" he asked. Cuddy responded with a nod. She grabbed her briefcase and led the way out to her car without even looking at House.

"Well, this is going to be fun," House said with a sarcastic tone as he got into the front seat of Wilson's car. Cuddy was tense and closed off. Getting her to open up a little, either positively or negatively, was going to be more of a challenge then he thought.

"House, shut up," Wilson responded shortly after seeing the already pissed off look on Cuddy's face. It was clear she didn't want to be here, and Wilson almost felt bad, but he knew this trip would either verify Cuddy's decision to break up with House, or it would bring them closer together to the steos of reconciliation.

Cuddy was thankful that car ride to the airport was pretty silent, with the exception of House mocking Wilson to listening to light FM music on the radio.

"Seriously, you pick up a girl for a date and you've got Celine Dion playing on the radio…do you ever have sex?" House said. House looked in the rearview mirror and saw Cuddy smile at the comment while looking out the window.

_"Okay so maybe this trip wouldn't be all bad,_" Cuddy thought.

* * *

When they arrived at the airport, the three got out of the car to get the luggage. House put his luggage on a cart. Then he grabbed Cuddy's suitcase from her and rolled hers for her.

"House, you don't have to—" she started.

"Don't worry about it. I got it."

Cuddy gave a small smile and excused herself to go to the bathroom. House and Wilson continued over to the waiting area where he set the stuff down.

"Why didn't you help me?" Wilson asked.

"I'm not trying to get on your good side." House responded.

"House….are you—are you gonna try and win her back?"

"Shut up."

"You are!"

"Well, in any event you still could have put my stuff on the cart with yours."

"Wilson, you want your stuff on the cart? Fine."

House picked up Wilson's luggage and then just threw it in the opposite direction of his and Cuddy's stuff. Wilson rolled his eyes and fetched his luggage.

Cuddy returned confused at the situation but still slightly amused. This trip maybe wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

House caught her satisfied look t the situation and made a mental note that picking on Wilson would be a good way to induce a positive energy between them.

They all sat independently waiting for security checks. Cuddy was on her laptop checking her e-mail, Wilson was prepping for his speech about running a top oncology department, and House was playing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on his PSP.

House drew Cuddy's and Wilson's (and most of the surrounding audience) attention when he cried out "Damn you Slytherin keeper!" And while Wilson's thoughts and looks were of annoyance and slight embarrassment…..

"_God…he is so sexy when he plays his video games," _Cuddy thought recalling their video gaming experiences together_. "Shit! No! No hot thoughts about House this trip…..or at all!" _Cuddy quickly turned her attention away from watching House because there was no doubt her face hadn't revealed something slightly insinuating. She just hoped he or Wilson for that matter hadn't noticed.

House made an additional mental reminder that she was secretly turned on by him doing adolescent things.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, the three took their seats on the plane, preparing for takeoff, each of them with different expressions on their faces. Because Cuddy was forced to sit with House, this left Cuddy with a look of frustration and annoyance, House with a childish smile staring at her, enjoying her anger, and Wilson looking excited to be able to see how this would unfold from a seat in front of the two.

"So…." House began.

"No, no," Cuddy interrupted with a short light tone. "No need for conversation. I've got my favorite book, I haven't gotten to read in three years, I'm all set."

House scoffed and buckled his seat belt. Once the plane took off, House reclined his chair, put in his iPod, and drifted off to sleep.

A short while later, House woke up to the flight attendant offering drinks rather loudly.

Annoyed from being woken up from his nap House asked rudely "Excuse me, ma'am. Are you familiar with the concept of WHISPERING? When people look like they are asleep you should really have some common courtesy. You would think they would teach you that in your training."

Embarassed and offended, she gawked at him and started to walk away but House continued, "Really? First, you wake me up to give a drink to the wine-aholic over here." Cuddy slapped his arm. "Now, you won't even offer me a drink? Have you ever worked on a plane before or do you just have sex with the pilot?"

"HOUSE!" Cuddy interjected. "That is enough. What is your problem? You are a representative of this hospital and you will not treat everyone at the low standard of shit you think of yourself!"

"Low blow Cuddy," House said annoyingly. And even though he tried to wipe it away she saw the hurt in his eyes when she had said that last part.

"Okay maybe that was too far," Cuddy thought. "But I'm not about to go back on that great rant now."

"Also may I say," Cuddy added in a nicer tone. "Enjoying wine tastings does not make me a wine-aholic. As you should know my grandfather owned a vineyard, and I've always been interested."

"Well going to them by yourself is pretty sad," House responded.

"That's because YOU always bailed on me!" Cuddy added with a more heated voice.

"OK, enough!" Wilson said.

"What? Mommy and Daddy fighting scare you?" House asked.

"Just shut up." Wilson said shortly.

Cuddy turned her attention back to her book. Hoping the conversation would end soon. "Mommy" and "Daddy" talk made her uncomfortable.

"So…the Great Gatsby huh?" House asked. "I read that the summer before high school, and have read it every other summer since."

Trying to not indulge in anything too personal Cuddy simply mumbled a small "That's nice" and went about continuing to read.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the plane ride went by in mostly silence. Cuddy had put herself deep into The Great Gatsby, and House subtly watched her. He studied her reactions. House thought it was nice to see her smile about something, but it also hurt that it couldn't be him attracting all of her attention.

Cuddy got through about half of the book and decided to take a nap, knowing she could finish the rest on the plane ride back. She put the book in her bag, and looked out the window before drifting off to sleep. This trip was not what had been intended only a few weeks ago. There was a large part of Cuddy that wished things were different and that she was cuddling up to House for this nap, not pushed away staring out the window waiting for her eyes to close. She wondered if House felt the same. However, the smaller, rational, realistic part of her realized that the decision to end their relationship had been a hard one, but a reasonable, imperative one. So Cuddy reminded herself of the feelings that had brought her to that painful conclusion and put her mind to rest to fall into a sleeping state.

House saw that Cuddy's eyes were closed, meaning she was no doubt asleep. He decided to turn his game off as to not disturb her. He decided to go to the bathroom, and then tune into the movie upon his return.

The movie seemed to be dull, and he studied the passengers mindlessly. After a few minutes, he felt something touch his shoulder. House opened his eyes and looked at his right shoulder to see Cuddy's head resting on him. He looked at her a moment and contemplated waking her up but decided against it. He instead shut his eyes to pretend he was asleep as to avoid Wilson catching a glimpse and giving House that "what is this?" look over it.

About 20 minutes later, the pilot came on the intercom announcing the plane was to be landing in a few minutes. This awoke Cuddy and she realized she was on House's shoulder. She put her head up and looked at House, whose eyes were closed. Cuddy hoped he had been asleep the whole time this had happened. Wilson turned around, not giving her a suspicious look, which meant he probably didn't have a clue about what had happened. He woke House up, and the plane landed.

* * *

They were in a car on the way to their hotel, when Cuddy noticed they were headed in the wrong direction.

"Where are we going?" asked Cuddy to the driver.

"To your hotel ma'am as you requested," he responded with a slight hint of sarcasm. House saw Cuddy get slightly irritated with the man's tone and smiled. Cuddy caught his smirk just before going to dish the sarcasm right back, and instead turned her attention to House.

"What's going on here?" asked Cuddy. House shrugged his shoulders. She turned her attention to Wilson who was suspiciously avoiding eye contact. "Wilson….I know you know. Tell me now."

"We're booked at the Monte Carlo," Wilson said quickly.

"Dammit Wilson, c'mon!" House said.

"I thought you told her when you changed it. I'm sorry. I wasn't mentally prepared to be keeping secrets."

"Why are we going there?" Cuddy asked quickly.

"It's closer to the conference center, plus we don't have to deal with all those annoying doctors walking around," House said quietly.

"But…." Cuddy started. House noticed her confused look on her face.

"I did this when we were still together by the way. It was supposed to be a nice gesture. See what happens when I try to be nice? The world just can't handle it."

"Well, thanks I guess," responded Cuddy weakly.

Before anything else was said the driver informed them that they were here, and got the luggage out for them. Wilson pushed the luggage cart and the three headed to the front desk to check in.

The cute receptionist looked up at them with a smile and said "Welcome to the Monte Carlo. I presume you are checking in. What are your names?"

"Dr. Lisa Cuddy, Dr. Greg House, and, myself, Dr. James Wilson," Wilson said.

"Let me see what I've got for you," she said happily.

"I have a deluxe suite under a Dr. Wilson and a diamond suite for Dr. House," she said.

"Okay, thank you," House said quickly before Cuddy could question about her room. Wilson grabbed the keys and House ushered Cuddy away.

"Here," he said, handing the diamond suite key to her. She looked baffled. "Seriously, did you forget already? We were together when I booked this."

"Well you and Wilson should take this, and I'll take Wilson's room. You too will need the bigger room," Cuddy said rationalizing.

"Two guys sharing a diamond suite? No thanks. People think we're gay enough already with Wilson just standing next to me. Just take it," House responded.

"Okay. Why don't we go get settled and then you two can come get me when you're ready to go get dinner before the first seminar at 8?"

"Sounds good," Wilson said. They went their separate ways to their designated rooms.

* * *

Cuddy nervously opened her door to her suite. She looked at it in awe. It was beautiful. There was a bar and living area, a king size bed, and a Jacuzzi bathtub with a glass shower.

The more luxorious things she noticed the worse she felt. Clearly, House had had something special planned, and this now just raised her guilt level even higher. He was trying to show an act of kindness, and had been trying to show her he cared. But she reminded herself, that this wasn't the kind of caring she had been looking for. It was easy to show it when things were good, but he proved that when the pressure came, he couldn't deliver. Cuddy decided to get ready for dinner to distract herself. No doubt the boys would be here soon anyway.

* * *

Meanwhile, House and Wilson looked into their room. There was one queen size bed and a simple bathroom. Although nice, this was no diamond suite.

"Dibs," House said while sprawling out onto the bed.

"That's mature. I'll order up a cot for you."

"No. I paid more than you. I'm sleeping here. Plus I called it before you."

"Technically, I booked this room, so I called it like 2 weeks ago."

"We're in Vegas. There's a casino right downstairs. Why don't we play some roulette? I put a $100 on red and you put up a $100 on black."

"And if it lands on the one green?"

"We'll kick Cuddy out of her room."

The boys changed for the dinner and gambling, Wilson was in a white button down shirt with a gray suit and House changed into a black shirt with a black suit. It was nearly 6 so the two quickly brushed their teeth and went up to get Cuddy.

* * *

Cuddy was primping herself in the mirror. She looked fantastic. She was in a black skintight dress that fell just above the knee and wore some studded black stilettos. She added a metallic clutch to the ensemble and was ready to go.

There was a knock at the door. Knowing it was House and Wilson she went over and opened the door. At the sight of her, Wilson's mouth practically fell open and House's eyes grew very wide. Cuddy smiled, not bothering to hide her satisfaction in their reactions.

"Wow, Cuddy. You really do like to run that fine line of hooker dress wear," House said.

"I don't know why you're being negative since you clearly get your fair share of hooker lovin'," Cuddy quipped back.

"House is an ass. You look great," Wilson interjected, deciding there was too much tension, making him a bit uncomfortable. They did that sometimes. When the two of them were talking, no one else was there. Their body language would tense and eyes would get heated and for an innocent by stander it could be slight awkward.

"Do you guys want to see this place before we go down to the restaurant?" Cuddy asked.

"No can do," House said. "Wilson and I have to hit the roulette table down in the casino before dinner to decide who gets the bed."

"Then what are we waiting for? This I want to see," Cuddy said with a sultry look in her eye.

House made another mental note: Gambling was a turn on.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Author's note: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I'm so sorry I haven't updated. I've been so busy! I'll try to post another one by tomorrow night for you as well! Keep reading and keep reviewin, I love to hear all you've got to say. It means so much! Much love!_**

As House, Cuddy, and Wilson stepped into the elevator, it was already beginning to feel a bit too awkward for Cuddy's liking.

The elevator stopped at the floor to the casino and House started to get off. Cuddy and Wilson looked at eachother and followed him reluctantly.

"House, the restaurant isn't on the same floor as the casino," Wilson said.

Without looking back House replied, "Well then, I guess we're not eating in the restaurant are we?"

"House -" Cuddy began. The first conference meeting started at 8:30 and it was already 7. They didn't have time for House's games.

"Oh relax Cuddy. We'll eat in here while Wilson and I battle it out for the bed with a round of roulette. I'm actually helping you out here. We won't miss the first meeting."

Cuddy rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. As the three of them started over to the roulette table of the casino, Cuddy felt her phone vibrating in her bag. She signaled to House and Wilson she'd be there in a moment, as she hurried to the outside of the casino. She didn't recognize the number, but she reluctantly answered.

"This is Dr. Cuddy," she said into the phone. It was a nice security blanket to always take the professional approach to any unknown scenario as her work life was the best thing about her, she thought.

"Hello, Dr. Cuddy, this is Dr. King, the director of the Doctors and Ethics Conference," a man on the other line replied. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but a pipe in the hotel busted and flooded the entire conference room, so the conference has been postponed to a date yet to be determined."

"Oh," Cuddy said surprisingly, not knowing what to say. She had lots of thoughts processing in her mind. The first one being frustration because she had been stressing the past few days over this because of House and now she had to go through all the awkwardness for nothing. She brought herself quickly back into the conversation, again with her full-proof professional mode. "I'm terribly sorry to hear this news, but you have my contact information. Please inform me of the rescheduled dates when you have them."

"Of course. Enjoy your stay in Vegas, and again I'm truly sorry. Good-bye."

"Bye."

Cuddy put her phone back into her bag and headed back into the casino to find House and Wilson.

"Was that Marina about Rachel?" Wilson asked as Cuddy approached the table.

"No, actually," Cuddy replied. "That was the director of the conference saying that it's been postponed due to a busted pipe at the hotel."

Before Wilson could say anything, House did. "YES!" he yelled loud enough to draw some attention. "Wilson, go get us something to drink over at the bar now that we don't have to go to that snooze fest."

"Let's get this bed situation figured first, then after losing if you still want to celebrate, I'll buy the drinks."

"Why does this even matter now?" Cuddy asked. House and Wilson turned their heads towards her confusingly. "We're only spending the night here now, and then catching a flight back tomorrow."

"Oh Cuddy, c'mon. You and your fun killing. Someone's gotta sleep in the bed tonight. We're doing this." House said. He looked at Wilson, nodded, then turned to the dealer and said confidently, "I'll take $100 on black, he'll take $100 on red, and she'll take some good old fashioned lovin' because she's been lonely lately."

The dealer looked at Cuddy and smiled awkwardly, and Cuddy gave him a bitchy stare back, not knowing what was behind the weird behavior.

"Okay Wilson get the Monte Carlo room service dialed up to order your cot."

The wheel began to spin and the ball in the opposite direction. As it slowed, the ball hopped into the 31 space, which to Wilson's dismay was black.

"Well this is just great…" Wilson said. House laughed mischievously in his face and Cuddy smiled at the scene. She had been so wrapped up in herself and House's relationship lately she had forgotten about the friendship that existed between the three of them. There was some sort of normalcy to Wilson putting because of House's triumphs, and that sense comforted Cuddy, and gave her hope that things would get better.

House saw her smile, and made eye contact giving her a positive look in return, but only briefly.

"Wilson, I've thought about what you said, and I still want to celebrate even after losing. Oh no wait—you lost. Anyway, I still want to celebrate. Get me a scotch on the rocks, Cuddy wants a Manhattan, and if you bring back an apple martini for yourself, Cuddy and I will ditch you."

Wilson rolled his eyes, and looked at Cuddy for confirmation of her drink then headed over to the bar to order.

"You do still like those right?" House asked moving over to a small table. He hoped she would be impressed he remembered.

She sat down next to him before replying. "Yeah I do."

House looked at her surprisingly at the simplicity of the reply. "Seriously? No 'I'm surprised you remember?' or anything?"

"No. House, you notice everything, I would've been surprised if you hadn't done that. Also, 'still remember'? You say that like we used to go out for a drink decades ago. It's only been about a month."

"Fair enough," House said shortly. Cuddy could tell he was a little disappointed, but before anything else could be said, Wilson returned with the drinks.

"Oh for God's sakes Wilson," House said rolling his eyes. "A cosmo?"

"Hey! It's not an apple martini!" Wilson said.

"Well it's barely a step up. How are you supposed to meet chicks when you're drinking that?"

"Why would I be here to do that?"

"You have to find the 4th ex-Mrs. Wilson in Vegas! Besides, you're going to need to score if you want a bed to sleep in tonight."

Wilson just rolled his eyes. For the next few hours, conversation flowed relatively pleasantly. House and Wilson bickered, and Cuddy would smile. House and Cuddy even shared their normal banter which gave comfort to Cuddy.

One hour and three Manhattans later, Cuddy decided she wanted to do a little gambling.

"I'm tired of sitting here," she said, only a little buzzed. "I'm going to play some poker!" Cuddy got up and walked over to the nearest Texas Hold 'Em table and sat down, and purchased some chips. House and Wilson exchanged an amused glance and then followed behind her, then taking a seat on either side of her.

"You two have the balls to play?" Cuddy asked.

"Wilson only has one so you'd have to ask him, but me? I never pass up the chance to watch a drunk Lisa Cuddy gamble," House quipped back at her.

"I'm not drunk."

"That's debatable."

"Since when do you care anyway? You'll be caught up by the end of this hand."

The three of them started to play. Wilson really sucked at poker, but just kept putting more money the more he lost. It was two hours later when Wilson revealed his cards confidently that held showed a full house: 3 Kings, 2 Aces. House smiled a devilish grin and put down his cards, revealing a full house but 3 Aces and 2 Kings.

"Damn it, House!" Wilson said angrily. "That is the third time tonight you've put me out when I had a good hand." Cuddy laughed, patted Wilson's head, and said "I guess this just isn't your thing."

"No! Maybe it's just this game! How about we try some black-jack and shake things up?" Wilson said.

"I'm all for it!" Cuddy said.

"I'd rather just watch Wilson lose. Every loser thinks black-jack will get you some good winnings, but it's too easy to lose. I'm going to get us another round and then I'll watch," House said.

House needed a little break to stretch his leg which was starting to stiffen up a bit. Wilson and Cuddy excitedly walked over to the black-jack table and sat down. While they were waiting for the hand to start, Wilson took the opportunity to talk to Cuddy about House.

"So, this isn't as bad as you thought right?" Wilson asked.

"Surpisingly no," she answered. "He's been funny but nice. It's almost a bit weird for me."

"Better than him sulking, I guess."

"I may be drinking, but I'm not naïve, Wilson. I know he's playing a game here. He's putting on an act to get me to come back to him. He's trying to show me he does care."

"And that's a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I'm not sure yet. On the one hand, I don't want to be guilted into anything, and I have made it this long with standing by my decision to end things, but still, I like the games. I miss the games, the drive, his quest for my attention. When we first broke up, it was constant avoidance, so I'm glad things are changing."

"All I can say is—"

"Okay here's your…What is it now, Cuddy, 6th Manhattan?" House interrupted.

"Ha-ha-ha," she turned to him. "We're practically on vacation. This has got to be your 6th right?"

"Yeah, but I can handle mine. It's been a while since you were Michigan's number one party girl, you're probably a little rusty."

"I was not."

"Okay, you two," Wilson interjected. "Let's go ahead and get playing. I want my money back."

They played a few hands and Wilson of course lost more money. About 10 minutes into the game, Cuddy received her two cards, a 10 and 5 of hearts. She was debating whether or not to hit or stay when she felt a House's hand slide onto her leg. It surprised her so much she practically slammed her hand down onto the table, which the dealer took as her wanting to get another card. She gave House a stern look, but instead of removing his hand he began to trace small circles around her kneecap. The card was a six giving her the lucky 21.

"See, I'm good luck," House whispered into her ear.

What the hell was he thinking? What was going on? What the hell was she thinking letting this continue? She thought about swatting his hand away, but his touch filled such a large void that she didn't have the self control for it.

"Okay. That's it!" Wilson said. "I'm done. It's now 11:45 and I have lost $400 in a matter of 4 hours. I'm going back to the room."

Wilson got up and stalked away without looking back or even acknowledging House and Cuddy.

"So you going to keep playing?" House asked Cuddy.

"No, I think seeing Wilson like that is the biggest victory. I'm just going to end on a good note here."

"So you going to turn in then?"

"Uh no! Going to sleep before midnight in Vegas is like going to bed before dinner or something at home. I'm not going to be a wet blanket. Let's get out of here and see some of the city!"

She grabbed his hand from that still remained on her leg and pulled him out of the seat. They walked out together. House knew that she would most likely regret this, but he wasn't going to, so he didn't care too much.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello all! I'm so sorry about the long delay in posting. I am giving you a very long chapter in hopes that it might make up for the wait. I have had so many ideas for the direction of this story but simply no time to write. I have a quiet night, so I'm spending it on this. Much love to all who are following the story. Reviews would be marvelous. **

It was shortly after midnight when House and Cuddy found themselves in a cozy jazz lounge at Caesar's Palace. They were having a drink, mostly in silence, with House making the occasional joke on a person passing by. It should've been awkward, mortifying even, for Cuddy, but with House, what she felt in the silence was just as meaningful as a personal conversation. The silence, and Cuddy's muse, was broken by House asking her to dance.

"No one else is dancing. I don't think this is a dance kind of lounge," Cuddy said.

"Who cares? Since when does Lisa Cuddy, Administrator—," Cuddy gave him a stern look of disapproval at her job description, "I mean…Dean of Medicine conform to her surroundings. If you really are as big and bad as you think you are, you control the environment."

House was just pushing her buttons now, and Cuddy knew that, but she still wasn't going to back down. That would put her behind in their never-ending power struggle.

"Fine then," she said shortly. She set her drink down on the bar and grabbed House's hand to lead him out to an open space in front of the small jazz ensemble. The group began to play a slower number, Stardust.

House placed his hand on the small of her back and took her hand with the other. He brought their intertwined fingers to his chest, and they began swaying back and forth gently to the music.

Cuddy put her other hand on his shoulder. She was at first taken back by House's immediate intimacy, but soon warmed up to his touch. As they were dancing, a young couple ran in loudly, and yelled to the entire room how they just got married at the Little Wedding Chapel down the street.

"Foolish…" Cuddy muttered.

"What? No soft spot for young love?" House replied.

"That's not young love, that's immature drunken impulse. They will wake up tomorrow, and regret the decision."

"Eh, yeah, I guess."

"You DO have soft spot for young love?"

"No, of course not, but doing something on impulse, actually means they're living. That's still pretty cool."

"I'm living and I don't do stupid things like that."

House's hand drifted lower down her back as he closed the space between them even more.

"Yes, you're living in the sense of having functional organ systems and a questionably functional mind, but you aren't living like those two."

"Well, neither are you." She moved his hand back up to the small of her back.

"Hey, I have a motorcycle, I live. One you couldn't even bring yourself to get on."

"It's a deathtrap with two wheels, especially if you are the one driving it."

House smiled slightly and lowered his hand on her backside, when Cuddy grabbed it and pulled it back up.

"Well, Cuddy, you can't even handle me lowering my hand. Trust me, you aren't the impulsive type."

Cuddy thought for a bit. Had she really become _that _woman? In college, no one could touch her. She was stop-dead-in-your-tracks beautiful, and her intelligence made everyone want to talk to her. She never knew how her night would play out at parties. Every guy drooling over her, she had her pick. Nothing was carefully contemplated, just simply done. But the way House had just called her out, made Cuddy feel like she had as much impulse as a soccer mom. She had not worked her butt off to find herself in that category.

Suddenly, she had an idea, and a drunken one at that. She broke out of their dancing position and looked up at him.

"You know what? You're exactly right, Dr. House. I am totally predictable. So let's change that. Let's go to the Little Wedding Chapel right now and get married," she stated.

"You can't be serious," he replied half laughing.

"If you won't, I'll find someone in here." House looked stunned. "Predict that."

She began to walk away, but House grabbed her arm and twirled her back to him.

"This is all a big bluff. You won't actually do it," House said. "I'm pretty drunk so you almost had me fooled—"

"This is not a bluff," she interrupted, "I'm serious. I'm going to that chapel tonight and getting married."

"Fine," House said stubbornly. Their faces were close enough he could smell the liquor on her breath. "Let's go get married."

House and Cuddy then hurried out just as fast and excited as the young couple had come in.

* * *

Cuddy felt a rush of excitement. So, maybe this actually had been a bluff at first, but the fact that House could still read her and know, only pissed her off even more. She was going to push it that much farther. No way House actually marries her. He had to take "nights off" from their relationship. House wasn't the marriage type. He was too scared to take that step, even if it was a drunken one. He was the predictable one, not her.

They entered the chapel and approached the bald flamboyant manager at the counter.

"One wedding please for Dr. Gregory House and Dr. Lisa Cuddy!" Cuddy slurred rather loudly.

"To this guy? Oh girl, you've knocked a few back," the man said with attitude, referring to House.

"Yeah. So you can't have her!" House said.

"Wrong team buddy," the man replied.

"So, when can we nip this thing in the bud?" Cuddy asked.

"Well, we have a slot open in about 45 minutes. Let me go get a marriage certificate and the dress coordinator, Jenny, will be right out to get you a white dress to wear," the man informed Cuddy.

"What about me? A white dress isn't just her dream, I want one," House whined.

"We have a wide variety of tuxedos available to wear," he replied with a slight discomfort in his voice. "Katherine will get you set." The man quickly walked out of the lobby into the back of the building.

House and Cuddy walked over to the couch to wait and Cuddy sighed heavily as they sat down together. She was having time to process this and all of its stupidity. How was this going to be a good thing? She couldn't be in a real relationship with the man without the titles, how was getting married to the man going to work?

House recognized her slightly biting her bottom lip and raising her eyebrows. She was about to back out, which should've been a good thing for him because he could have the last laugh, but House wanted her to go through with this. Not just for the selfish reasons that he loved her, and now in his drunken state, he thought that was enough reason for this to happen, but he also wanted her to have her chance to live again. Do something stupid and crazy.

"Oh my God, relax, woman!" House said loudly. "We can get this annulled before anyone but Wilson will even find out, so don't back out now."

God, he could read her. Cuddy turned her head to him. "I am not backing out. I'm acting on impulse because I want to live, remember?"

"Actually you're just being stubborn which is the same old you," he replied.

Before Cuddy could reply two women came out and called for House and Cuddy to follow them to the back to pick out a dress and tuxedo for the wedding. They came to the split in the hallway. The right led to the bride side and the left to the groom side.

"Okay, House, give your girl her last kiss as a single woman," Katherine stated as she turned towards the left.

"That's right. The next time you see each other will be in the chapel to get married and you'll kiss your bride," Jenny chimed in as she drifted in the right direction.

"Uh, no thank you," House and Cuddy stated in unison and turned in opposite directions.

"Hey, make sure I can see Patty and Selma through the wedding. I need something to distract me. And try not to be too much of a hooker. Those days are over remember? But then again I like hookers, so, yeah maybe go with a hooker vibe!" House yelled out. Cuddy didn't even turn around but simply acknowledged the comment by giving him the finger as she walked into the dressing room.

"So Dr…..Cuddy," Jenny began. "How do you want to look for the ceremony?" She started rummaging through all the dresses.

"Call me Lisa," Cuddy said. "I want a white dress, but other than that, you heard House right? So something along those lines." Jenny stopped and stuck her head out the aisle.

"You're serious? This is your wedding, Lisa."

"It's a wedding in Vegas, hardly the most traditional." Cuddy began walking up and down the aisles of dresses pulling a few out.

"You two are a very interesting couple—"

"Oh, we're not a couple," Cuddy interrupted.

"Well you're getting married, so I think that qualifies you two as a couple," she said.

"Actually, I'm just his boss, and he doesn't seem to think I know how to live, or something like that. He says all I'm good for is assigning parking spaces."

"So…yes, the natural conclusion would be to marry him," Jenny stated rather confused.

"Precisely," Cuddy said while holding up a dress to her body in the mirror. "This one seems to fit his requirements right?"

"I suppose so," Jenny said very confused by their entire relationship.

* * *

As House was putting on a coat for his tuxedo, the manager from the lobby walked in with the marriage certificate.

"Dr. House, it's almost time. I just need you to sign this marriage certificate. And all we have available a justice of the peace at this hour, I hope that'll be satisfactory," the bald man said as he extended his hand out to give House the paper and a pen.

"What? No rabbi? She's Jewish you know?" House said, taking the certificate and the pen. He looked down at the piece of paper. She had already signed her name. Her signature was feminine, slightly legible, but still dignified and meaningful. Much like herself, House thought. House simply scribbled his name down and wondered if that was a reflection of him as well.

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road!" the man exclaimed.

* * *

Cuddy was smoothing out the final touches on her dress when she was signaled to come out to the lobby. When Cuddy walked into the lobby, Jenny and the man behind the desk both took a quick breath. Only this woman could look simply breathtaking in this much of a drunken state.

"This is dumb," Cuddy said. "I shouldn't be doing this."

"Listen, honey," the man said. "Your man is in there waiting for you. You may think this is a bad idea, but this is not for him. He loves you."

"No, I don't think you understand—," Cuddy began in protest.

"No, you don't understand, because he got googly eyes over your name. Take a shot, and let's get this wedding going."

And with that, Jenny gave her a shot of tequila to down before walking in, which Cuddy took quickly. She downed it, and suffered through the burn in her throat. Cuddy stormed through the doors and down the aisle. Not even bothering to wait for the wedding march to begin. If she was going to actually go through with this, they needed to hurry through it before she lost her nerve.

House gave an approving smile, not just to her drunken actions, but to her stunning appearance. She was in a tight white dress that fell several inches above the knee. It had thick straps that led the border of the plunging v-neck (which did wonders for Patty and Selma). Along the neckline was some beading, enough to draw attention but not too much to make it a distraction.

The young 20-something justice of the peace stood behind House and was able to get a glimpse of House's reaction.

"You are one lucky S.O. B. man," he said.

"Yeah, I know so hurry this up before she comes to her senses," House replied, slightly anxious.

"Oh my god, this isn't just a drunken wedding for you is it? You really love her?" the guy asked surprisingly.

"If I wanted speculation and conversation about feelings I would have invited my best friend, Wilson."

"This is great. I actually get to do a wedding that has some meaning."

House rolled his eyes and turned his attention back on Cuddy, who was now standing with him. The ceremony was quick. They said their I do's, and after about 10 minutes, it was over. They were married now. There would have to be an annulment but not until the morning.

"THAT was insane!" Cuddy exclaimed as they busted out through the front door into the night air. "You were right. I haven't been living at all. We should go skinny dipping in the Bellagio fountain or something."

"You've made enough impulsive decisions for tonight," House said. "You'd need way more to drink before you did that and if you have anymore, you're going to start stumbling all over the place, and I can't carry you back to the Monte Carlo."

"Whatever. You sound like Wilson now."

Cuddy wrapped her arm around House's left arm and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked back to the hotel.

* * *

When they reached Cuddy's suite, House checked his watch. It read 3:54 am. He wondered when the last time Cuddy had been up that late for non-work related reasons.

Cuddy turned and unlocked the door. She rested her hand on the door handle and pushed it open slightly.

"Well," House said slowly with a big breath. "Good night." Then he turned and started to walk away.

Cuddy was stunned. She had spent most of the night with this man drinking and gambling, and had just married him an hour ago and all she was getting was a timid "Good night"? Since when was that acceptable.

"That's it?" She called after him loudly. He turned around to look at her. "You're leaving just like that? Not even going to try and make a move?"

House walked back to her. "You're drunk."

"So are you."

"I'm still rational. In the morning, when you wake up and see me beside you, you'll think—" Cuddy interrupted his speech of rational thought with a drunken kiss. She grabbed his face with her hands, and dipped her tongue into his mouth for a brief moment, then slowly broke the kiss with a lasting nibble on his lip.

"Shut up and come inside."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I loved all the wonderful responses from the last chapter. I'm glad I did their relationship justice. In this chapter, I hope I was able to live up to your expectations. Enjoy the chapter, and be sure to let me know what you think. Also I should tell you that I don't have any idea what the laws are for annulments so I'm going to make up what fits my story line. Much love to all. **

Cuddy awoke suddenly to a loud knock and a man calling her name. At first, she thought it was Wilson at the door. However, once she sat up and looked around, she realized it was House, and it was coming from the bathroom. She started to get out of bed when she realized she was completely naked. She slowly got out of the bed, the pounding of House's fist on the door mirroring the pounding in her head.

"Cuddy! Cuddy, get your ass out of bed, now!" House was yelling, but Cuddy ignored. She was too busy looking around confusingly, trying to make sense of the night before. First, she was naked, which obviously meant she had had sex and since House was in the other room, she remembered it was certainly with him.

The sex had been clumsy, obviously fueled by the copious amount of alcohol in her system. On their way back to the bedroom, they were ripping off close and stepping out of shoes, while running into furniture and walls. Although drunken, it was a night that released a lot of built up tension for the past few weeks. It had been a mixture of anger and release.

Cuddy found a robe out of her suitcase and went towards the bathroom door to open it to tell House to shut up, but as she opened her mouth she ran into the chair blocking the door so instead she let out "Shit, mother of God!"

"Well I can hear you found the chair you used to block me in here all night," House said annoyed.

Cuddy moved the chair and opened the door. When she walked in, House too was naked. "Oh my God!" Cuddy gasped in surprise. She quickly turned around. "Can't you put a towel on or something?"

"Well, I've been pounding on the door for the last half hour to get you to get me out of here, so it didn't really cross my mind," House replied as he wrapped a towel around his waist.

"You've been in here all night?"

"Yes, I went for my post sex pee, and while I was in there you had one of your melt downs, you got mad at me for 'taking advantage', then barricaded me in there with the chair, so thanks for that."

All Cuddy could do was laugh a little. House looked at her with surprise. Hell, even Cuddy looked at herself with surprise. Sure, she should have been upset, after all she had gotten married and had sex with the man she had broken up with only a few weeks ago, but instead, all she could do was laugh because she locked him in a bathroom all night. If she had done that while they were together, maybe the relationship would have lasted.

"I'm not seeing how this is funny," House said slightly angrily as we moved past her and walked into the bedroom, looking around the suite for his clothes.

"I don't either, but somehow I'm managing to laugh."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"It's Wilson. His knock reeks of worriedness and concern," House said. "I'll get it."

Cuddy ran and jumped in front of him.

"No, you will not!" she replied. "He'll know we slept together, and then all we'll hear for the next month is lectures. I will answer it. You just go find your clothes."

"Good call," House said. He walked back towards and slapped her but as he passed her.

"House, what the hell?"

"What? We're married."

"Well, not for long. No ass-touching. Ever."

House smiled, and Cuddy turned quickly to go answer the door. She swung the door open quickly.

"Hey!" She said brightly.

"Uh—Hey." Wilson said slowly as he looked over Cuddy with suspicion. "House, didn't come back to the room last night. Have you seen him?"

"Nope," Cuddy responded a little too quickly.

Wilson took a look at her appearance. She looked sloppy, and that was not Lisa Cuddy. Her makeup from the night before was slightly smudged and she had obvious sex hair.

"Well, you obviously didn't have a quiet night."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Have you looked at yourself this morning?"

Just as he asked, they both heard a door shut in the background. Wilson gave Cuddy a very suspicious look and walked further into the suite.

"Lisa, what is going on? Someone is in here. It's House isn't it?" Wilson asked with growing excitement. Before Cuddy could respond, Wilson spotted House's shoe. "That's his shoe!" Wilson practically yelled.

"You don't need to yell like that," House said walking into the room with Cuddy and Wilson. He was fully dressed except for the shoe.

"Okay, what the hell happened last night?" Wilson asked.

House looked at Cuddy with a small grin while Cuddy returned the smile with an annoyed look.

"Exactly what it looks like," Cuddy said shortly. She picked up House's remaining shoe and tossed it to House. "Why don't you two get breakfast? I'll meet you down there in about an hour."

Wilson was in too much of a shock to really respond. He just stood there motionless. House put on his other shoe, tapped Wilson on the back and said "Let's go Jimmy, she can get bitchy after sex."

The men turned and left and Cuddy locked the door behind them and leaned against the door. Cuddy knew this was a big mess, but the marriage would be annulled, so she took a deep breath and went to take a shower.

She took off her robe once the water warmed, and stepped into the shower. She splashed water on her face and took off her makeup. She carefully washed her hair, feeling the knots and tangles from the previous night adventures. As she washed, she thought. It had been a crazy night, but a real night. There were no guards up or hidden agendas. It had been an honest night, and although it was a drunken situation, she felt the same sober. Cuddy did not wake up this morning with regret but with a little hope. Sure, she still wanted the marriage over with and had no intentions of getting back with House, she knew this had been a positive step in their relationship.

* * *

House and Wilson walked into their room, while House went through his luggage to get clothes and bathroom supplies.

"You know, I don't know what I'm more annoyed about. The fact that you slept with Cuddy, or that I slept on that damn cot last night because I thought you were going to sleep in here," Wilson said.

"Why are you 'annoyed' that I slept with her?" House asked. "Jealous? Or were you really naïve enough to think it wasn't going to happen?"

"You knew it would happen?"

"Judging by the surprise in your voice, I'm going to go with naïve," House said as he went into the bathroom, shut the door, and turned on the shower.

"Well, whatever your intentions were, you should've thought about the consequences. Now, we're back to 'Wilson, the love messenger' and play matchmaker…"

Wilson continued to lecture, but House ignored him. He washed his body slowly, wanting to savor what was left of her still on him. Sure, Cuddy would be pissed the next few weeks, but he knew she had felt something last night, drunk or not.

* * *

House, Cuddy, and Wilson met down in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. After the waiter took their drink orders, there was an awkward tension. Cuddy sat across the table from House and Wilson. Wilson was giving her a stern look and House was simply staring out the window to avoid conversation.

"So…." Wilson began, catching the attention of House and Cuddy; both looked nervous.

"I think I'll just point out the obvious here so we can just get past this, and I don't have to worry about you two talking about me for the next 3 weeks," Cuddy stated boldly. House turned to look at her surprisingly. "Last night, House and I had sex while completely drunk and it was a mistake, so we don't need to analyze every detail or talk about what it means. We're moving on."

"Well you've done me proud, Cuddy," House said. "Finally you're over the whole state your feelings thing that you like to do."

"Well, 20+ years with you and it rubs off," she said with a small smile.

"Yes, but you are still a giant coward," House said loudly, ruining the moment. Cuddy and Wilson's eyes grew wide. "It's easy to say the obvious. You knew I already told Wilson, so you were retelling a story. If you were really ballsy, you'd tell him what instigated the sex last night."

"I think that's enough House," Wilson said quickly. "I think we all know the large consumption of alcohol and the fact that you two just broke up was the instigator of sex."

"No…" House said quietly. "Would you like to tell him?" Cuddy gave him a bitch glare. "I'll take that as a negative. You see Wilson, the drinks were actually the instigator to the thing that instigated the sex. Cuddy and I got married last night."

Wilson's mouth dropped. He turned and faced Cuddy.

"Bull shit," Wilson said to Cuddy. "Even in a drunken stupor, you are not able to rationalize doing that."

"There wasn't really time for rationalizing," Cuddy said.

"Seriously?" Wilson responded.

"Yeah, Cuddy, there's always time to rationalize," House said trying to gang up on her in order to take away some of his fault.

"Oh shut up House," Cuddy said rolling her eyes. She turned her attention to Wilson. "We're getting it annulled before we get on that plane."

"Well, you can't do that," Wilson said.

"What?" House said.

"You have to get it annulled in the state in which you reside, so it will have to wait until we get back to New Jersey," Wilson said.

"We need to get home. Now. I'm going to go book the next flight out of here back to Princeton," Cuddy said. She got up from the table and walked out of the restaurant towards her room.

"Married, House? So you're forcing her into a relationship with you?" Wilson asked.

"Well it just sounds so wrong when you say it that way," House responded.

"I don't think it's too bad of an idea. I mean she'll be angry for a while, but she'll also blame herself. Plus it buys you some time. Well done," Wilson responded.

"Who are you and what have you done with Wilson?" House asked.

"What?"

"What? What? Two minutes ago you were saying that no one could every rationalize this as a good decision, and now you give me a pat on the back?"

"I said I don't know how _she _rationalized it, but well played sir on your part. I want you two to sort this out. God knows you're always going to circle each other anyway, so better off together than apart," Wilson responded.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- Like I said before, I don't really know what the laws are concerning annulments, so I'm making them up to fit the story. Here's another chapter. I really love all the wonderful feedback. Feel free to tell me what you like and dislike about the story, and where you'd like to see it go. Much love to all. **

House, Cuddy, and Wilson caught the afternoon flight back to New Jersey booked by Cuddy. She made sure not to have a ticket sitting next to House. Instead, this time she sat in the row in front of House and Wilson.

After the fasten your seat belt light turned off, Cuddy unbuckled her seatbelt and headed towards the bathroom. Cuddy looked at herself in the mirror and studied the person looking back at her. She looked like hell. The little to no sleep from the night before was portrayed all over her face; not to mention the alcohol consumption didn't do much for her skin either.

She took a deep breath and splashed some water on her face to freshen up a bit, and then returned to her seat.

Cuddy closed her eyes. She began thinking about all the things she was going to need to do to undo the marriage. She would have to call city hall, schedule a hearing, and fill out all the necessary annulment paperwork for herself and House because she knew he would be of no assistance in the process.

The growing list made her exhausted at the slightest thought, so Cuddy took a deep breath to clear her mind and within a few short minutes she fell asleep.

Wilson saw Cuddy close her eyes and could tell she was falling asleep, so he nudged House to get his attention.

"What?" House replied solemnly.

"So you're not going to actually let this thing get annulled are you?" Wilson asked.

"Yes, Wilson, I am," House said. His answer was serious, but had a tone of slight disappointment.

"But why?"

"Because I don't think I'd make a good trophy husband." Wilson gave House a 'Seriously?' look. "I mean you're not seriously asking why I am going to try to stay married to someone who doesn't even want to be in a relationship with me?"

"Yes, House, I am because although you may not want to be married, you love that woman, and you are selfish enough to refuse the annulment just to try and force something."

"If I was doing that, I'd be bragging about my selfishness just to steer you away from any hidden meanings, and I'm not so….."

"So you're scared. You're being human and actually debating whether it's worth the risk of not ever having a chance with her again just to keep her happy."

"No. I'm going along with this because I legitimately don't want to be married. TO ANYONE. I'm not exactly the marrying kind."

"Still doesn't explain why you keep cautiously looking over at her to make sure she's sleeping. "

House simply rolled his eyes and then took a long stare at Cuddy. He watched her chest move up and down slowly; a sign that she was asleep, so therefore unable to hear the conversation.

* * *

Later that night

House dug his hand into his pocket in search of his apartment key. When he found it, he opened the door and walked inside. He limped down the dark hall and tossed his suitcase and backpack onto his bed. He then walked to the kitchen, opened up the liquor cabinet, and retrieved his favorite bottle of scotch. He poured himself a drink and headed back to his bedroom, where he stripped down to his underwear got into bed and played a video game a patient provided him about a year ago until he finished his scotch.

Cuddy reached for her key out of her purse, but was puzzled when she realized the door was unlocked. She walked in through her front door to see her mother, Arlene, playing with Rachel.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Cuddy asked.

"I think the better question is why are you not at my house to get Rachel," Arlene responded.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Mom, I wanted a chance to put my stuff down and relax before I picked her up. How did you even get a key?"

"I took your spare and had one made a few years back." Noticing Cuddy's annoyed facial expression Arlene added, " Oh don't be so dramatic. I was only here because Rachel was getting a bit whiney so I thought she might tone it down in her own environment."

"Still Mom, I'm a grown woman who deserves some privacy. I don't like the idea of you popping in at anytime," Cuddy said walking over and picking up and greeting a now happy Rachel.

"I'm the one who should be annoyed. Just how long were you planning on staying before picking up your daughter?"

"It was a stressful two days, Mom," Cuddy said shortly. She did not want to have to explain to her mother how she married her ex-boyfriend in while drunk in Vegas, especially someone Arlene didn't exactly get along with. All that would come with would be a lecture.

"I don't see how since you didn't even have to participate in the conference," Arlene responded. She was clearly aware something out of the ordinary happened.

Not wanting to dish the details, Cuddy expressed her gratitude to her mother for taking care of Rachel and said good bye to her mother. She put Rachel to bed and made a small snack of Nutella and pretzels. She would call her lawyer tomorrow to find out about the annulment details.

* * *

That Monday

It was 7AM and House was confused on why his eyes were open. He had spent the weekend playing the piano, guitar, and harmonica, and drinking bourbon and scotch. All as a way to process his next move, on how to prolong this marriage long enough to convince Cuddy to take him back. He had stayed up into the wee hours of the morning contemplating and pacing. His body and mind were exhausted and 7AM was the wrong time to be awake.

But at last he realized why he was awake. His phone was vibrating quite loudly on the night stand. He didn't have a patient, so there was no medical emergency. He looked at the phone and saw it was a text message from Cuddy. All that it said was "In my office ASAP." House knew that nothing good could come of that. She had made no efforts of communication since getting out of Wilson's car on Friday night after getting home from the conference, so it obviously wasn't going to be a personal conversation; not that he really wanted to have the conversation either. He assumed it was medical and thought that if it really was an emergency, that by going back to sleep, by the time he arrived at the hospital today, if at all, the emergency would be gone, thus no talk with Cuddy. House put his phone on silent and shut his eyes. After 20 minutes of simply laying idly unable to sleep, he groaned loudly and got out of bed to get ready for work.

* * *

Cuddy was freaking out because it was nearly 8:30 and House still was not even in the building. She instantly regretted sending him that text message. How could she have been so stupid? His M.O. was to avoid her at all costs. Knowing that she was looking for him, House wouldn't come anywhere near her office for the whole day, if he even came into work at all. She had made a lot of stupid decisions regarding House lately though so what else was new. She decided to take her Macbook out to the main desk to do some work in hopes that she could flag House down when he finally got there.

Around 9, Cuddy looked up to see House approaching the main doors. She closed her computer and gave it to her assistant to take back to her office.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" Cuddy asked as House walked inside. House kept walking towards the elevator.

"I don't have to be here until 9 and it's 9:00 right now so—" House replied.

"I sent you a text 2 hours ago." House got into the elevator and rolled his eyes when Cuddy followed him in. "I called my lawyer who called city hall about how to get a marriage annulled. Turns out we're going to have to wait 3 weeks until we can go to the courthouse."

The whole thing really was a mess. Now they were going to have to go to HR and inform them, so of course the whole hospital was going to find out. She already got looks and whispers if she was even seen around House since their break up.

"So I made an appointment with HR and—" Cuddy continued.

"What? Why?" House asked annoyingly.

"We're married. If anyone found out during these three weeks and we didn't report it, mistake or not, both our jobs would be on the line. So let's go."

Cuddy pressed the close door button to the elevator, since neither of them exited. A few moments later they got off at the 1st floor and headed down the hall to human resources.

"The director already doesn't like you, so try to behave when we go in okay?" Cuddy asked in annoying way.

She opened the door that read _Ernest Griffin, Director of Human Resources_ on it.

"Ernie, my main man! Long time no see!" House yelled as he came in. Griffin just rolled his eyes.

"Hello, Dr. House," Griffin responded in a monotone voice.

House and Cuddy sat down in front of his desk.

"So what can I do for you Dr. Cuddy?" he asked.

Cuddy fidgeted in her seat, becoming slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"We need to sign the consensual relationship forms….again," she said. "Dr. House and I are married." Her tone was anything but chipper.

Griffin had a mixed look of confusion and shock on his face.

"So…you broke up and came in here a month ago to shred those forms, and now you want the marriage form?"

"Yes," Cuddy said, avoiding eye contact. She stared out the window, trying desperately not to look at House, who was staring at her with a small smirk because of her discomfort.

Griffin handed a form to House and Cuddy to sign. "You two did a good job before keeping it fair, so I don't see it being a problem. However, I'm sure the board will be keeping a much closer eye on you both now that you're married."

"Well you see, House and I—" Cuddy started to explain the situation. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Okay great. We can leave now right? Let's go Cuddles," House interrupted. He pulled Cuddy out of her chair and took her outside. Once the door to the office was shut, House took his hand off her arm and started walking away. Cuddy stood immobile for a slight moment, unsure of the origin of that reaction.

"What the hell House?" Cuddy asked angrily. She started after him. Heading for the elevator, he didn't look back.

She didn't understand why he just cut her off like that. Surely, this had to have been an embarrassing situation for him too. Being married seemed like it should be the exact opposite image House wanted to portray. She caught up to him while he was waiting for the elevator to open.

"So you wanna tell me why you man-handled me in there?" Cuddy asked.

"Not particularly," House responded.

"That behavior is inappropriate, House. I'm your boss. How do you think that makes me look?" She lectured.

They stepped into the elevator and House pressed the button for his office floor.

" Oh cut the crap, Cuddy," House said. "You just wanted to justify a foolish decision instead of being an adult and standing by the consequences. That's what impulsive decisions require."

They stepped off the elevator and started walking towards House's office. He could tell the team had a case for him.

"You are lecturing _me_ on acting like an adult? That's ironic," Cuddy said. "And why don't _you_ want to rationalize to the world why we got married?"

It was a legitimate question. Why didn't House want people to know the reason for that wedding?

Upon hearing that question, House stopped just outside his office and turned to look at her. He said nothing, but Cuddy looked at him and he had a look that seemed disappointed she didn't know the answer to that question. Then his expression changed.

"Well, as fun as this conversation is, looks like I have a case, and my white board doesn't want you in there so bye," House said. He turned and walked into the outer office entrance and shut the door before Cuddy could walk in.

Cuddy turned and walked back towards her office. She slammed the door to her office, slightly scaring her assistant, and then sat down on her couch with a heavy breath. That had been a terrible look from House, which made her body ache with guilt. There had been something she had done or said in that meeting that clearly upset him.

* * *

That afternoon things had only gotten worse when her assistant brought her a form from House to sign off on a brain biopsy for his newest patient. She signed it, and decided to return it herself.

She saw him sitting at his desk reading a medical magazine.

"I signed off on your brain biopsy," Cuddy said walking a bit closer to give the form to him.

"Thanks. I'll tell the team," House said.

He was clearly still upset about something.

"You're welcome," she responded quietly. She inhaled deeply as he stared at her and turned to walk out the door. She got about 3 steps out the door when she decided to turn around and go back in. "What is wrong with you? Why didn't you want me to tell Griffin about why we got married? I mean do you like saying you're married to me?"

He was silent for what seemed like a life time but then took off his reading glasses and leaned back in his chair.

"No" was all he said. Cuddy could tell there was more he wanted to say.

"Well you have some issue with it. Just tell me," she said.

He got up and walked over to her until he was standing just a few inches from her. He took a large breath and looked her right in the eye about to finally tell her the source of his anger.

Until Taub stormed in asking, "Did she approve the…uh…sorry." He noticed that he clearly interrupted something. House broke his stare at Cuddy and looked to Taub.

"Yes. That's what she was just saying. Go get Foreman and do it," House said.

House looked back at Cuddy who was still staring at him, hoping that they would pick up the conversation where it left off.

"Well, look at the time," House said in a sarcastic tone looking down at his watch. "Time to go to the clinic." He stepped around her and left.

Cuddy stood motionless for a few moments, and then decided to go talk to Wilson.

She opened the door to his office and sat down on the couch. Wilson simply stared at her.

"What's House doing now?" Wilson asked.

"I upset him somehow," Cuddy said.

"Yeah getting dumped by a woman he's loved for 20 plus years is usually a tad upsetting," Wilson said with a slight bitterness.

"Not that. But thanks for adding that to the list of things for me to feel bad about. Something happened in HR and he freaked out."

Cuddy told him the story and Wilson responded with silence.

"Okay great advice then," Cuddy said being very annoyed with his lack of help.

"Wait," Wilson said as she started to walk out. She turned to look at him. "He wouldn't be embarrassed to be married to you. I think he's upset that you're embarrassed to be married to him. He did this as a favor to you, and you are trying to say you are the victim."

"Right," Cuddy said quietly, closing her eyes.

"He loves you and although he may not see the value of being married to someone, if it meant that he was with you, he'd stay married to you. Cuddy, he's trying so hard for you."

"I know," Cuddy said. A tear fell from her eyes that she quickly wiped away. "I should uh… go do some work…um budgets and things." She struggled to piece together the sentence as she walked away.

When she found herself in safe confines of her office, Cuddy let more tears fall from her face. Sure, she knew that he loved her still, and she still loved him, but it was overwhelming to hear the intensity that it had affected their lives.


End file.
